The Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit and out-dueled the Denver Nuggets late for a 119-114 win on Monday night that evened their first-round playoff series at 1-1.

The Nuggets went on a 17-0 run in the first quarter and led 44-25 less than a minute into the second quarter. Minnesota responded by winning the next six minutes 24-4 to rush into the lead.

The second half was played almost entirely with the teams exchanging single-possession leads in a dramatic, see-saw battle.

Donte DiVincenzo made a key 3-pointer late, and Julius Randle knocked down a pair of clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the Game 2 road victory.   

Anthony Edwards finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds, and his pass out of a double team led to DiVincenzo’s 3-pointer that put the Wolves up 115-111 with 1:05 remaining.

Randle had 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and DiVincenzo finished with 16 points as Minnesota prepares to return home for a pivotal Game 3 on Thursday.

Jamal Murray had 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Nuggets, while Nikola Jokić – who scored just six points in the first half – finished with 24, 15 rebounds and eight assists.

The dynamic duo’s decision-making in the final minute, however, left some analysts scratching their heads.

With 20 seconds remaining, Jokic passed up a floater in the lane that could have tied the game, instead attempting a difficult dump-off pass to Christian Braun. Braun was fouled on the subsequent layup attempt and missed one of the two free throws.

After the Wolves increased their lead to 117-114 on Randle’s free throws, the Nuggets were unable to generate a good look at the other end, with Murray taking a difficult step-back jumper inside the 3-point arc over Rudy Gobert.

Jokic and Murray, who dazzled in the first three quarters, combined to shoot 1 of 7 in the final four minutes of the fourth.

 

Hawks rally in 4th to even series against Knicks

CJ McCollum capped a big night by making a tie-breaking jumper with 35 seconds remaining, and the Atlanta Hawks rallied from 12 down in the fourth quarter to beat the New York Knicks 107-106 to tie their first-round playoff series at one game apiece.

McCollum made three key shots in the final 2:10 of the fourth to finish with 32 points.

The Hawks took a 105-103 lead when McCollum connected on his final shot of the game, and the lead grew to 107-103 after a Jalen Johnson dunk with 10 seconds remaining.

After a Jalen Brunson 3-pointer cut Atlanta’s lead to 1, McCollum missed two free throws, opening the door for the Knicks.

Out of timeouts, New York scrambled for a look at the buzzer, but Mikal Bridges’ midrange attempt did not fall.

With the win, the No. 6 seed Hawks wrested home-court advantage from the Knicks as the series will move to Atlanta for the next two games.

Jonathan Kuminga finished with 19 points off the bench for the Hawks, while Johnson had 17 points and eight rebounds. Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished with nine points and three blocked shots, including a key rejection against Brunson with 15 seconds left.

Brunson finished with 29 points and seven assists on 10-for-26 shooting. Josh Hart had 15 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.

 

Cavs seize 2-0 lead over Raptors

The Cleveland Cavaliers jumped out to an early 10-point lead and never trailed in their 115-105 win over the Toronto Raptors for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Cleveland’s trio of stars led the way, with Donovan Mitchell finishing with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists while committing just one turnover.

James Harden scored 28 points, and Evan Mobley added 25 points and eight rebounds while shooting 11 of 13 from the field.

Toronto shot 51% from the field but was limited by 22 turnovers and made just seven 3-pointers.

Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 26 points, but fellow All-Star forward Brandon Ingram was limited to seven points on 3-of-15 shooting.

RJ Barrett had 22 points while going 10 for 13 from the floor and adding nine rebounds.